Rob Portman in Sunday Political Talk Show interviews during 2013-2015

On Jobs: Opposed unemployment extension as unpaid-for, & needs reform

PORTMAN: I'm one of six Republicans who voted to allow this debate to go forward, I think we should. Unfortunately, Democrats did not work with us, wouldn't negotiate with us on how to pay for it. We've got a 35-year low in terms of the number of people working, the labor-participation rate. We also have record numbers of people long-term unemployed. And the Democratic answer to that is, "Let's add more to the 26 weeks of unemployment insurance to emergency benefits, and let's do nothing to reform the program. Let's do nothing to give people the skills they need to access the jobs that are out there." All the Republicans were saying, including me, was, "Look, yes, let's extend unemployment insurance, I'm okay with that. But let's pay for it. Last thing we want to do is add to the deficit. But second, let's reform this program." I have a specific proposal to do that.

On Health Care: Repeal and replace ObamaCare

PORTMAN: I oppose ObamaCare. I think we ought to repeal it and replace it. And I think most Americans agree with that. But we can minimize the damage in this process by doing certain things that were consistent with the original ObamaCare, like making people verify their income when they go on the exchanges. Q: Is that helpful to the debate about ObamaCare?

PORTMAN: Well, I think what would be helpful is if we sat down and figured out how to make this less damaging to American families and to our American economy, because it is a huge problem. By the way, it's not just a glitch in terms of the rollout, it's a breakdown--having tried myself to get on yesterday. So there are huge problems with it, but let's be honest, and we oughta be sure that we can minimize the damage.

On Civil Rights: Change of heart: give gays the joy & stability of marriage

(VIDEO) PORTMAN: I'm announcing today a change of heart on an issue that a lot of people feel strongly about that has to do with gay couples' opportunity to marry. I've come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have the joy and stability of marriage that I've had for over 26 years. That I want all of my children to have, including our son, who is gay.

Q: Is gay marriage a civil rights issue?

Gov. SCOTT WALKER: In our state, it was in the constitution years ago [protecting homosexual civil rights, but not gay marriage]. It rarely is an issue. I focus on the economic and fiscal crisis. People don't want to get focused on [gay marriage] issues.

On Social Security: Payroll taxes don't pay for the benefits going out

PORTMAN: We have to educate folks as to what the problem is. For instance, Social Security this year is in trouble. There's about an $80 billion deficit. The payroll taxes don't pay for the benefits going out. And that's not understood right now.

Q: So why did the budget deal fall apart?

PORTMAN: Well, we came very close. And it was a balanced approach, and Republicans supported it. Spending is the problem, there is no question about it. The CBO just told us again that if we don't do something on the spending side, there's no way that taxes at any level can catch it, because spending goes up so rapidly. These important programs--Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid--will double in size in the next 10 years, which is, of course, the main reason, along with interest on the debt, that you add another $10 trillion to the budget deficit. But the problem right now is we don't see from the president any structural changes in this unsustainable course on entitlements.